November 6 2015, Volume 15, Issue 9
The Village Voice
This is our school, Let peace dwell here
Fill all the rooms with happiness.
As many hands do make a house,
So many hearts do make our school.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, 11/8
Village School Fundraiser at
16 tons 4:00-9:00pm
Monday, 11/9
Building Development
Commi ee Mee ng
5:30-7:00pm
Wednesday, 11/11
Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL
Thursday, 11/12
4th Grade Field Trip
We appreciate all the effort that has been put out to
get students to school on me, well-rested and fed,
as we go into this dark me of year. Thanks for all you
do for our school! Kent
Tonight!
Grounds sub-commi ee
mee ng. 6:30pm 16 Tons
Wednesday, 11/18
Board Mee ng 5:30-7:30
Thursday, 11/19
6th Grade Play
10:15-11:15am & 6-7pm
Monday, 11/23
5th Grade Field Trip
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH
THE VILLAGE
SCHOOL CAFETERIA
5:30–7:30 PM
PLEASE BRING:
Building Development
Commi ee Mee ng
5:30-7:30pm
From the Principal’s Desk
A Latin inspired potluck dish to share
Your own dishes, utensils and cups
A photograph (labeled) of a loved one
for the ofrenda
STUDENT PERFORMANCES
POTLUCK, BAKE SALE
FACE PAINTING & CRAFTS
We are delighted to welcome visiting musicians
and dancers from the group “Los Arribeños” from
November 9, 2015
Gree ngs! Halloween is over but the fun con nues
tonight with Dia de Muertos. Doors open at 5:30PM
for food, cra s, dance and music. We have very talented guest musicians, student performances and a
beau ful altar, Estar alli o ser cuadrado!
Next week brings a K-2 Lantern Walk on Thursday as
well as the 4th Grade Fish Creek Field Trip, same day.
The First Grade Bike Blender Party is on Friday. No
school on Wednesday, Veteran’s Day.
Guanajuato, Mexico accompanied by members of
the UO Fandangueros to play “Son Jarocho”, the
folkloric music from the Veracruz
region of Mexico.
Random Acts of Kindness
For the month of November our students, staff and community are invited to par cipate in Kindness Month at the
Village School.
The Site Commi ee, now known as the BDC, (Building Development Commi ee), is mee ng every other
Monday at the new site, and this Monday is on the
schedule. Several project groups have begun discussions and the room assignments will be presented at
this mee ng. All are invited, hope to see you there.
Our Staff and OEA Choice Wellness Program would like
to inspire a culture of kindness in our school, homes and
community. Star ng next week, a Kindness Tree will be set
up each day in the courtyard. There will be leaves of kindness with li le random acts of kindness wri en on them
as ideas of ac ons we can do for each other. We will also
have blank leaves for you to fill out with your own acts of
kindness.
Parent Council met last night and has lots of good
ideas for fundraising, helping classrooms move and
even a possible new fes val next year. Please read the
notes from the mee ng which are now posted on our
website.
To par cipate, all you need to do is choose a leaf, do that
act of kindness, and pin your leaf on the Kindness Tree
when you are done. By the end of the month we hope
to bring a sense of though ulness to our community by
seeing a full tree of kindness leaves. Make someone’s day
and share a li le kindness.
The Village Voice 2015-16 p. 1
2855 Lincoln Street • Tel: 541-345-7285 • Fax: 541-242-6874
email: [email protected] web: eugenevillageschool.org
School Pictures Have arrived
Look in your Family Mailbox
Nortwest Exposures will be offering retake photos on
Sunday, November 15th. They will also be offering a
Family Portrait Special ($95 / regularly $195), on the
same day. Contact Judi Lamb at 541.654.1921 to
schedule.
16 Tons School Fundraiser
We’re excited to announce that 16 Tons, a favorite
local spot next to Market of Choice, has offered to
host a monthly fundraiser for the Village School to
raise money for our new school kitchen. Our first
event takes place THIS SUNDAY from 4-9pm and
will happen the first Sunday of each month a er
this. So, join your friends down at 16 Tons this Sunday where $1 from every purchase of beer, wine,
sandwiches and crepes sold will be donated to our
school. See you there!
Seeking donations for
Recess equipment
We are looking for the following items for our students to use at recess. If you have dona ons, please
bring them to the office. Thanks!
-Rubber Gym Balls
-Basketballs
-Footballs
-Frisbees
-Airpumps
Got Shirts?
Holiday Wreath Sale
8th Grade Fundraiser
The Middle School art
classes need your old Tshirts (all colors) for a large
scale weaving project. If
you can donate any, drop
them in the marked box
near the office. Thank
you!
Mari Livie
These beau ful wreaths are
made with the freshest greens
from the Pacific Northwest.
Star ng with a Noble Fir base,
we add generous clusters of
Berried Juniper, splashes of
Incense Cedar, and adorn each
with Ponderosa Pine Cones ~a
wonderful welcome for your
house. (Wreath finished outside
diameter 22” - 24”)
Wreaths cost $20 each. Please pre-order yours by Thursday, November 21st. Wreaths may be picked up star ng
Tuesday, December 2nd before or a er school. Please
make checks payable to: The Village School, and deliver
your orders and payment to the front office.
If you have ques ons, please call Carrie Janes 541-3450946 or email [email protected]
Happy Holidays and thanks for suppor ng this year’s 8th
Grade Class Trip!!
The Village Voice 2015-16 p. 2
2855 Lincoln Street • Tel: 541-345-7285 • Fax: 541-242-6874
email: [email protected] web: eugenevillageschool.org
New School News!
The building sale is set to close by the end of this
month! Last Thursday, October 29, Village School
Administrators, Main Lesson Teachers and board
members met to discuss the future of our new building and site. They are working on a vision statement
which will be aligned with the Village School mission
and hopefully help guide us all in our work. Look for
an upcoming dra of the vision statement in the next
week or so.
It will take many hands to prepare our new school
site before moving next fall. There are numerous opportuni es for parents and community members to
get involved in this exci ng project! We are excited to
share with our school community what is happening!
The Building Development Commi ee was created to
organize around the efforts. We have created subcommi ees for volunteers to work on a specific aspect of the project. The sub-commi ees have chosen
to communicate through a website called Basecamp.
If you are interested in joining one of the sub-commi ees, email Holly at holly@eugenevillageschool.
org and ask to be added to the group. If you are not
interested in the planning process, but want to help
out when we are looking for volunteers, stay tuned!
We will be pos ng updates in the newsle er, and on
our website as the project moves along.
Sub-Committee Reports
Grounds Planning Subcommi ee:
The site survey should be completed soon and will
provide details about loca ons of stormwater infrastructure and more. The first commi ee mee ng is
on 11/12. They will be looking at the elements that
need to be included (playground, garden, outdoor
classrooms, playing fields, etc.) and how they could
be best arranged on the site. Several members saw
Landscape Architect, Anita Van Asperdt, give a talk on
natural playgrounds.
Sustainability Sub-commi ee:
Commi ee members walked through the site with
BRING’s RE:think program & EWEB to look at op ons
for upgrading the ligh ng to be more energy efficient. EWEB offers a significant rebate for upgrading.
Chris Halaska is in the process of ge ng quotes on
the actual cost, to see if this is something that can be
done as part of moving in, or if it will be a longer-term
project.
The Village Voice 2015-16 p. 3
Buildings (interior) Sub-commi ee:
The teachers and administrators have agreed on the
placement of different classes and uses in different
rooms. Their reccomenda on will now go to the
board for approval. The building inspec on report
done in June will be made available to the subcommi ee to determine the necessary repairs and
upgrades.
Fundraising Sub-commi ee:
The GoFundMe campaign for the kitchen has raised
almost $2,400 in 15 days (h ps://www.gofundme.
com/villagekitchen). There will be monthly 16 Tons
Village School fundraisers star ng THIS SUNDAY from
4-9 and the 1st Sunday of every month in the future.
The fundraising commi ee met on Thursday the 5th
and discussed the Annual Giving Campaign as it relates to the new building and will be discussing capital
campaign strategies in their next mee ng on 11/19.
Transporta on Sub-commi ee:
The City of Eugene will ini ate a speed study for Willame e. This should take un l approximately January
to get results. The commi ee is working with Safe
Routes to Schools to create a walk/bike map that will
be useful in planning and advoca ng for traffic calming in the area. They are organizing a endance at the
Southeast Neighborhood Associa on mee ng this month
to introduce ourselves, and hopefully do more outreach
soon.
Kitchen Sub-commi ee:
The commi ee is currently working with Pacific Restaurant Supply ge ng quotes for all equipment and
fine tuning the kitchen layout. Current plan op ons
under considera on for the VS kitchen.
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Thursday, 11/12
Grounds sub-commi ee
mee ng - at 16 Tons
6:30pm
Monday, 11/9
BDC Mee ng - at new school
5:30-7:00pm
Thursday, 11/19
Fundraising sub-commi ee
mee ng - staff lounge
6:30pm
Children are welcome, but childcare is not provided.
2855 Lincoln Street • Tel: 541-345-7285 • Fax: 541-242-6874
email: [email protected] web: eugenevillageschool.org
For Childhood’s Sake
A forum for exploring the impacts of technology on childhood
There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching
cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe bird…
Our child’s teacher presented this poem, “There Was a Child Went Forth,” by Walt Whitman, to us when we
met with her for our parent teacher conference the other day, small segments of which I have copied here.
The beauty and magnitude of it’s truth rung in our hearts and moved us both deeply. I have pondered it since,
and reflected with gra tude upon the objects the Village School offers to our children each day: the wool and
co on yarn and wood and bamboo needles in handwork, the cloth napkins and handmade ceramic bowls at
lunch, the beeswax crayons, the round-edged paper, the wooden flutes, the art-filled classrooms… for each of
these things and many others I am grateful to have become part of our children.
The poem goes on to list the people the child encounters, their language and manner, the smells and sounds,
the landscapes… and so on. And I reflect on the thoughtful ways ideas and concepts are presented to our children at this school, and the ming and pace at which
they are introduced, designed to match the readiness of
their tender minds and hearts. I reflect on the wisdom
and heart expressed to our children by the teachers,
staff, and families at the school. I reflect upon the carefully cra ed mission of the school, and how it aspires
to enrich our children with developmentally nurturing
curricula and equally to protect them from the predatory
barrage of the indiscriminate media milieu that pervades
the culture of consumerism. Again, I feel grateful to
have these become part of our children.
This poem calls me to reflect more deeply upon our children’s experience in the world, and our power to affect that experience across the spectrum of posi ve and
nega ve. When I am aware of the profundity of the impact their experiences in childhood have on who they
become for the rest of their lives, I am likely to be much more though ul about what I choose to introduce
to them at each point in their development. I am so grateful that the Village School’s mission is mindful of
this reality, and endeavors to honor, enrich, and protect the precious childhood of each young person at the
school. We are blessed to have such partners in our dreams for our children.
The poem ends: These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.
— Parent of two Village School students
We invite you to share your musings/ideas/prac ces on the topic of childhood, family, and media. E-mail JaneHappy@
aol.com or drop it in the Happy family box, and let us know whether or not you want your thoughts to be included in
future VV issues.
Please send Village Voice
submissions to Holly at
[email protected] by
Wednesdays at 12:00 PM.
Thank you!
The Village Voice 2015-16 p. 4
2855 Lincoln Street • Tel: 541-345-7285 • Fax: 541-242-6874
email: [email protected] web: eugenevillageschool.org
Village Classifieds
The 20th Annual University of Oregon Student Jewelry Sale will be held in the lobby of Lawrence Hall on
campus. The sale will take place on Tuesday, November 10 from 9am-4pm. Students and alumni of the
Jewelry & Metalsmithing program in the UO Department of Art will present jewelry that is inven ve,
though ul and unique. Each student is responsible
for the design and fabrica on of at least 12 pieces of
jewelry including rings, pendants, brooches, earrings,
etc. Each student creates a body of innova ve jewelry
using tradi onal and nontradi onal materials ranging from silver to plas c and rubber. This is part 1 of
2 opportuni es this term students will have to gain
professional skills in developing a body of produc on
work, sales and exhibi on.
All pieces are under $35 in order to raise funding for
guest lectures and studio equipment. The sale has
enjoyed immense success in past years. Be sure to
mark your calendar!
The Village Voice 2015-16 p. 5
2855 Lincoln Street • Tel: 541-345-7285 • Fax: 541-242-6874
email: [email protected] web: eugenevillageschool.org